This invention relates to a method and apparatus for continuously feeding a ribbon to an end use such as a production line. More specifically the present invention is concerned with a system for supplying paper ribbon at extremely high rates of speed to end use on a continuous basis.
Prior art systems have been developed which allow paper to be supplied as a continuous ribbon or web to an end use. These prior art systems typically involve mounting a plurality of paper rolls on separate spindles and securing the end of one roll to the beginning of the next roll and thereafter continually mounting another roll to the then empty spindle. This may require, depending upon the speed of operation, a full time attendant at the machine to achieve this function.
The herein apparatus is designed to automatically provide paper to an end use at speeds in the range of 2,000-5,000 feet per minute. The system includes a conveyor assembly for supplying rolls of feedstock, a robot assembly for transferring paper rolls from the conveyor assembly to a paper payoff assembly. A paper payoff assembly for unrolling the roll of paper at a very high rate of speed and a ribbon feeder and accumulator assembly for storing up to thousands of feet of paper, such, that paper may be continuously supplied to the end use during paper roll changeover intervals.
The system as described provides for an overall arrangement allowing paper to be supplied at extremely high rates of speed to an end use without requiring any manual labor in the process. The conveyor assembly may be loaded on a periodic basis, such as once every eight hours or once per day, and thereafter the system acts to advance all the rolls of paper and to place them as desired on the payoff assembly. It is anticipated that at the rate of speeds being considered that a new paper roll will need to be mounted every six to fifteen minutes. Hence, the system must be capable of providing up to 240 paper rolls per day to the payoff assembly for unwinding.